


play the game your way

by inquisitor_tohru



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Drinking & Talking, Engineer Armitage Hux, Gen or Pre-Slash, M/M, Post-Canon, Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-30
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-17 02:41:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29092914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inquisitor_tohru/pseuds/inquisitor_tohru
Summary: Poe found Hux in the caves, repairing one of the generators.
Relationships: Poe Dameron/Armitage Hux
Comments: 12
Kudos: 39
Collections: Hoelidays Gift Exchange 2021





	play the game your way

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kairiSparda](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kairiSparda/gifts).



Poe found Hux in the caves, repairing one of the generators he'd helped design, using repurposed First Order tech and blueprints. His perfectly coiffed hair had fallen into disarray, and his borrowed mechanic's overalls were smeared with grease and oil from the machinery. But he also looked healthier than the last time Poe had seen him, cheeks slightly plumper and flushed with exertion. 

"I didn't realise you were so good with your hands." Hux removed the secondhand pair of goggles he was wearing, seemingly for the sole purpose of rolling his eyes. "I was given the impression you liked to leave the dirty work to someone else."

"There's nothing dirty about manual labour, Dameron," he said, thrusting a greasy rag into Poe's bare hand as he pulled his goggles down and got on his back to look under the machine. It was ridiculous and petty, and Poe couldn't help laughing.

"True enough." Hux was right, which was almost as strange as seeing him get up close and personal with the generator's guts, untangling and rearranging various components until the machine began to purr like a loth cat.

"We did a lot of droidwork at the academy," Hux said, "before we  _ had  _ the droids for it." Poe frowned.

"The Order had  _ kids _ doing maintenance work?" Hux shrugged, like it was no big deal.

"We learned useful skills. Not everyone saw it that way, but...there's no use in relying on technology without first understanding it." Hux had been generous with intel on the First Order, but this might just be the most he'd ever volunteered about himself. Poe didn't want to push him too hard so, for now, he simply nodded towards the generator.

"Looks like it paid off. Good job." Hux bristled at the praise, though he seemed more uncomfortable than annoyed. Poe didn't let himself wonder how little praise or recognition Hux had received in his life, because the last thing he needed was to feel sorry for him. He'd helped them, and he deserved the chance to make the choice to do better,  _ be  _ better. But Poe couldn't afford to forget, even for a moment, what Hux was guilty of. The rest of the galaxy certainly wouldn't.

"Thank you," Hux said, his posture awkward. Without his starched uniform and the shoulder pads, he never seemed to know quite what to do with his limbs. "I assume he told you I- it wasn't  _ just  _ about Kylo Ren." Poe sat down on the ground beside the generator. The low rumbling noise was surprisingly soothing.

"I figured as much, or you wouldn't still be here. So did Finn, for what it's worth." He didn't mention that Finn still hated his guts, though he doubted that would have been news to Hux anyway. "I don't imagine this was the plan either."

"Not really, no. But it is what it is." It seemed unlikely that he'd get anything else out of him, but it was a start. Poe handed the rag back for him to wipe down the goggles, and offered him the small flask of water attached to his utility belt. Hux nodded his thanks, took a single swig, and headed back towards the command centre.

  
  


He next saw Hux in the makeshift cantina that some of the other pilots had set up on the  _ Tantive IV,  _ clasping a mug of steaming caf between pale, bony hands. Most of the other folks were downing hooch to celebrate the end of their shifts, though Poe really couldn't blame Hux for not wanting to drink something virtually indistinguishable from paint-stripper. 

"How's it going?" Hux's eyes flickered towards Poe as he took the empty seat beside him. This close, he could smell the liquor in the caf. Well, he supposed even someone like Hux needed to cut loose a little now and then. He was wearing civilian clothing, and his hair was neater than it had been the last time they'd met, though thankfully still free of whatever First Order-approved brand of product he'd been so fond of. 

"Fine." Hux might have been an eloquent public speaker, but he still wasn't much of a conversationalist. Poe didn't imagine he had much in the way of reason or opportunity to get used to exchanging pleasantries or engaging in small talk during his career in the First Order. They could work on that, if Hux was up for it.

"I heard there was an...altercation in the engineering bay."

"Ah, I see, and now you've come to slap me on the wrist?" Hux winced as he took a sip of the caf. Obviously the taste of the liquor wasn't as muted as he'd have liked. "And I suppose I should count myself lucky that she didn't bite me this time?" 

"Oh," Poe chuckled softly, "yes, Finn did tell me about that. And no, not exactly. Though it wouldn't hurt to be a little nicer, since you're sharing a workspace." Obviously it was a  _ little  _ more complicated than that, but they had to start somewhere.  _ Baby steps, _ Poe imagined Leia telling him. She'd have been much better at this than he was.

"I don't think my  _ demeanour  _ is the problem," Hux said, his words slurring slightly. Poe didn't ask how much liquor was in his caf, or how many he'd had. He was off-duty, and Poe wasn't his babysitter (even if it often felt that way). "I ordered her execution two years ago, and it appears she took it awfully personally." 

"Hux-"

"I hated the Resistance," he continued, swaying slightly on his stool, "but I hated the First Order, too. It wasn't  _ just _ about Ren. It was..." He stopped to spread his arms wide, almost knocking Poe off-balance in the process. "It was  _ everything." _ Hux stood, his long, skinny legs about as coordinated as a newborn fathier's when he tried to move away from the bar, instead stumbling right into Poe. Deep red bloomed in his cheeks, and Poe sighed, hooking an arm around Hux's waist to support him.

"I know, buddy, I know. Come on, let's get you some water." 


End file.
